


The darkness that follows

by Holo_Bayliss



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-03-18
Packaged: 2017-10-28 16:37:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/309858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holo_Bayliss/pseuds/Holo_Bayliss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rimmer and Lister are trapped on a planet with a blood thirsty, violent evil beast or they think it is...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title: The darkness that follows  
> Author: Bayliss  
> Rating: R  
> Fandom: Red Dwarf  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Red Dwarf, Doug Naylor and Rob Grant do. I make no money. I am simply borrowing the characters, tormenting them and giving them back tied up in Japanese bondage rope. _Oh Gods, did I say that out loud? *But Mr Grant and Mr. Naylor, Lister helped me tie up Rimmer. He really did. Rimmer even suggested it. HE DID! REALLY. Just ask him. *_  
>  Pairings: Rimmer/Lister  
> Spoilers: Hell, why are you reading this if you haven't seen the show? and If you haven't, WHY THE HELL NOT?  
> Synopsis: Rimmer and Lister are trapped on a planet with a blood thirsty, violent evil beast.  
> Warnings: Um it's R. If you can't get into an R rated movie, don't read this.  
>  _Note: Be kind... Seriously... Set after BtE, my Rimmer is the original Rimmer back from being Ace. He failed miserably and came back. I have Rimmer and Lister in an established relationship, 'cause I'm cool like that. And I don't wanna explain how it happened._

Darkness, impenetrable darkness. Rimmer was surrounded by it. He reached out hoping to feel Lister next to him. Instead all he found was a small emergency torch. He clicked it on and looked around the mess that was the interior of Starbug. Hoping against everything that Lister made it through the crash with out serious injury. "Listy! Listy, can you hear me?" I hope he's ok. If he's not, we're in trouble. He knows I suck at playing the hero. "Listy, where the smeg are you?"

A groan answered Rimmer's call. Putting the torch in his mouth he crawled over the wreckage and found Lister lying on his back under a small pile of rubble. Lister lifted his arms out from underneath the twisted bits and bobs and mumbled, "Is there anything left that works?"

Rimmer whimpered, removing the torch from his mouth, "No Listy, everything is down. All I have that works is this torch. Can you move?" Putting the torch back in his mouth he tried to shift the pile of rubble enough to get at Lister. Lister pushed at it as well and they finally got enough of it shifted to get Lister out.

Rimmer eased Lister out of the mess and hugged him tightly. Lister whimpered. "Not so tight, Rimmer. I may have cracked a rib. I didn't know ya cared."

Rimmer dropped the torch on the floor next to Lister, "Shut up, you smeghead, and don't die on me, OK?" Rimmer pulled back and Lister looked up at his face.

"Um... don't freak out on me, but you lost your 'H' and you're bleeding a little." Lister looked at him oddly.

"What?" Rimmer reached up and felt his forehead. It was slightly damp and definitely missing something. "Smeg." was all he said and promptly passed out.

"I told you, man, don't freak out on me." Lister shifted enough to get the not-so hologramatic-Hologram off of him and tried to get up. He picked up the torch and scanned around the wreckage. The darkness that was surrounding him seemed to go on for miles. The sounds of the planet were leaking into the broken space craft and making things worse.

Rimmer finally lifted his head off of the pile of mangled wreckage and spoke,"This isn't one of those psy-moons again, is it? I really don't want to deal with my self loathing again."

"Well, it could be, but the sensors should have told us that." Lister said, gazing about the wreckage again.

Rimmer pushed himself off the floor,"Oh, the bloody sensors. This is a JMC transport, Listy, which means it's about a reliable as a Leyland motorcar and, lest you forget, we are two chicken soup machine repairman, who are not qualified to do anything more technical then clean the dessicated remains of chicken from a nozzle." Rimmer offered his hand to Lister to help him up.

"You flew the Wildfire." Lister said grabbing a piece of junk and Rimmer's offered hand.

"Barely."He stated quietly,"The on board computer did it most of the time." Rimmer pulled Lister up and kissed his nose.

Lister smiled. "I'm actually glad you came back. You know that, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." Lister looked around the 'bug and spotted the emergency lantern buried under a pile of rubble. "Get that lantern. I'll find us some blankets and we should try to hunker down somewhere near the rear of this thing. Back by the engines should be far enough to keep us from getting eaten by something." A howl from the darkness echoed in from the outside. "We should do this quickly. I don't want to be on the menu of whatever that is out there."

Rimmer tensed up. Fear, deep palatable fear, crept into his blood and stayed there, setting up house and picking out curtains. The howls grew closer and seemed to be getting more plentiful. Grabbing the lantern and turning the knob it sputtered to life, bathing the midsection in it warm glow. A scream from the outside cut through the midsection and buried itself in Rimmer's gut, twisting the knot tighter and making him want to throw up. "Listy, What in the hell made that noise?"

"I don't know, Hun, but lets get get back in the engine room." Grabbing a few blankets and tugged Rimmer's arm. "We can find out tomorrow morning."

They had to step over large amounts of disjointed wreckage to get to the engine room, but it seemed safe enough and not too damaged. At least there wasn't a gaping hole in the side of it. Rimmer took the blankets from Lister and placed one on the floor. Helping Lister down to the floor, he sat down next to him and covered them both with the blanket. Slowly they fell into and uneasy sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Rimmer woke and slowly rolled over, lifting his head off the hard decking and glanced at Lister. Lister's eyes looked back at him, carefully studying the lines around his eyes and the small smirk that crossed Rimmer's face. That very same smirk crossed Lister's adorable chipmunk cheeked face. "You, Listy, are adorable. I want you quite aware of that before we are mauled and eaten by whatever is out there."

Lister looked up at the porthole. It was light enough that if they really wanted to go out and start to explore the rock they crashed on, they could. His stomach rumbled slightly and he looked back at Rimmer, "Food, then explore. We have to see if we can find anything more structurally sound then this. I don't trust the engines. They might over heat and blow." Lister kissed Rimmer soundly and pulled away. "Now, to find me some food." Lister tried to lift himself off the floor, but any pressure he placed on his left side elicited a painful moan from him. "Yup, definitely cracked or something."

"I'm thinking more along the lines of bruised, Listy." Rimmer helped him get up and looked at his lover carefully. "We'll pick this stuff up and then go find some breakfast, how about that?"

Lister nodded and Rimmer slowly picked up the blankets. He helped Lister through the mess and back into the midsection of the 'Bug. Rimmer filled a rucksack he found full of food, water, the torch, and slung it over his shoulder. Rolling the blankets up as Lister tucked into whatever it was that he found to eat, he looked up. Managing to find another smaller rucksack he put the two thin blankets in it and handed the lighter of the two to Lister. "You carry this one."

Lister pulled himself off the floor and they walked out of the 'Bug. The skies had taken on a darkened hue. Not much different then it was before the light had crept across the sky, but the light was still not reaching all of the shadows that crossed the ground. The forest that the crashed into smelled of burn metal and oil as they crossed into it. They managed to walk only a couple of hundred yards before hearing the screaming howl again. Rimmer turned and looked back at the bug, fear reaching every inch of his hazel green eyes. Turning back and looking at Lister. The Shorter man touched Rimmer's arm lightly. "It's ok, right? We'll be ok?"

The howl sounded like it was on the other side of _Starbug_. Lister was contemplating his answer when the scream of what ever it was reached a crescendo sounding as if it was only two feet from them in the woods. "Run!" Lister bellowed.

They pelted off through the forest at break neck speeds only stopping when Lister could no longer keep pace with Rimmer. Rimmer pulled Lister into a thick copse of trees that were near the path they were running down. "I think" Lister gasped, trying to desperately catch his breath, "we might have lost it."

Rimmer stuck his head out and looked down the path. The screaming , howling beast was no where to be seen, but he could swear he could hear it breathing not too distantly from them. "It's still following us, Listy."

The rustling of the trees, the swish of the grass, the ever increasing sounds of the forest surrounding them, magnified ten fold as they listened for the one single sound that inched into their souls and twisted the fear into knots. "We forgot to pack a weapon." Lister whispered.

Rimmer stared at Lister. The smeghead was right. They brought absolutely nothing to keep them selves from getting eaten. "We are finished." was Rimmer's calm reply. "We should keep moving. I would like to die somewhere where Kryten and Cat won't find me cowering."

Lister spotted the cave buried in the undergrowth, only because Rimmer had fallen partially in the hole himself. They agreed that that was going to be the best they could do and they both curled up next to each other and hoped that they wouldn't die in the middle of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Lister reflected as he sat next to Rimmer in the dark cave. This was only supposed to be a short little trip. A couple of days. A little moon hopping holiday for the two of them. A bottle of water passed in front of Lister. His hand locked around it and brushed against Rimmer's fingers. The touch was enough to remind him to look at him and see if the "H" was still missing. Unfortunately it was. With the hand not holding the water bottle he reached up and touched Rimmer's face. Just a simple gesture that made Rimmer jerk.

"Yes, Listy, it's still missing. It has to be this moon or planet." Rimmer stated, resigned.

Lister drank a bit of the water and handed it back to Rimmer.

"Thank you." Taking a swig of it himself and looking down at some of the rocks in the cave or hole they were in. "Rocks."

Lister looked at Rimmer. Maybe the fact that he was human and was bleeding was making him make no sense."Yes, Rimsy, they are rocks."

He shot Lister a look, "Maybe, you goit, we can use them as weapons against whatever is out there. Or have you forgot that we are being chased by some kind of blood thirsty beast." Rimmer crossed his arms over his chest as Lister smiled.  
"That thing could be a squirrel with a really loud howl, Rimsy. We might be running from a really cute fuzzy beast for no reason."

"I doubt that, Listy. It's probably some massive slobbering beast with teeth as sharp as files and razor sharp claws. It'll probably disembowel us with one blow and eat our insides as we lay flailing and bleeding to death." Rimmer slowly started to shake like a leaf.

"You really know how to put a bloke's mind at ease, you know that. Maybe Cat and Kryten will find us. They should be looking for us soon."

Rimmer turned pale, "Smeg."

"What did you do?" Lister glared.

"Smeg." Rimmer repeated and put his head in his hands. "They won't look for a week."

"Why?" Lister was now getting rather irritated. What had Rimmer done?

"I told Kryten to leave us be for a week. No checking up on us. Nothing." He looked at Lister seriously, "I finally got him to agree when I promised nothing would happen to you. If I hadn't, that bloody nanny bot would be checking up on us every ten minutes." His head went back in his hands.

Lister noted the slight greying at the temples. He wondered if that was just part of the programming to make things seem more normal for the holograms and the humans they had to live with. "Well, even if he told you he wouldn't check up on us, I'm sure he will. You know Kryten."

Rimmer lifted his head and let his eyes drift over the Scouser sitting next to him. He knew he didn't deserve to have him sitting there next to him. He was damn lucky Lister would even want to be near him, let alone shag him. The sound of rustling under growth pulled him from his mind. Lister had started inching to the single hole in the cave and peeked out.

"Just a squirrel, Rimmer." He slid back down the caves floor to the bottom where they were leaning. "Give me that torch."

Rimmer handed Lister the torch and watched him turn it on. He dug through the rucksack with the food in it and smiled. " You see this tin? You see this stick?" He picked them up. "We can turn that in to a weapon, Rimsy. " A giant grin crossed his face. "See I'm not a complete idiot."

"I never said you were, Listy." Rimmer stated, "So we just have to eat the tin of Vienna Sausages and we can make it into some kind of weapon."

"Exactly. We just have to make the tin into something sharp. We should be able to use some sharper rocks to get the tin broken up." Lister looked around at the rocks.

Rimmer's eyes lit up. "And we can use that rope on the rucksack to tie the bit of tin to the stick like a spear. Brilliant, Listy."

Lister smiled. "Come on and help me eat these sausages. You didn't grab any chilli sauce, did you?"


	4. Chapter 4

When the wind increased, the trees began to shake and sway. This planet or whatever it was morphed as the two only truly living things on the planet slept. Adding things to the ever changing landscape; something formed in the trees. Odd shapes that the planet had never been called on to make before. Sticks slowly forming in to the shape of a person and hanging in the trees. Rock piles building outside the entrance of the cave. The planet was feeding off of the irrational fear emanating from one of the people in that cave and it was enjoying it. It never had such a full and interesting brain to feed off of. The other one, the planet noted, was afraid, but not for himself, he was afraid for his companion. He was worried about the other's well being, his safety, his mind; but there was something else there, something that the planet had never felt before in it's victims, love. It scared the planet, as much as a planet could be scared. One of it's tasty morsels stirred, so the planet decided to kick things up a notch by shaking their cave. It needed them moving and going to the north. It needed then to go to that spot. Perhaps they could save it, do what the others couldn't. Maybe they could make it there alive. The planet was counting on them. 

_-_-_-_-_

 

Lister awoke to the shaking. It was only mildly annoying, not a deadly shake; not much different then a gentle shake someone would give you to wake up. He noted Rimmer apparent dislike of being awoken in that way. 

"Smegging shaking. I was sleeping here." He grumped as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. "If you wanted me awake you didn't have to shake the whole cave, Lister." 

Lister looked at the rather grumpy man and spoke, "I didn't shake the cave, Rimmer. I think it was this planet waking us up." He looked around and listened. The sounds of the above ground were filtering in through the cave opening. "Maybe we should eat a little and then move on. Before we crashed I noticed a lake. We should head toward it and see if we can maybe find something there." 

Rimmer reached for the rucksack and dug through it, grabbing another bottle of water and another tin of something. "Sorry we can't heat this up, Listy. We've got no heat source right now. Maybe we can find two sticks and rub them together later. " 

They ate their breakfast in silence. 

When they left the cave, Rimmer gasped. He didn't know where the damn twiggies came from but they were hanging in the trees and there were piles of rocks next to the cave door. Two piles of rocks. 

"Smegging hell, Rimmer. That's the last time I let you watch _The Blair Witch Project_ before coming to a psi-moon." Lister said after taking in his surroundings. "It wasn't even that scary. Just a bunch of dumb kids getting lost in the..." His voice trailed off as he looked straight at Rimmer. 

"Woods. Getting lost in the woods, Listy. Just like we have. There's something chasing us and it don't want us here." Rimmer said, he heard the movement in the undergrowth again and knew what ever it was that was chasing them was close. Looking at Lister's pointy stick with the bit of tin tied to the end. "we should move if you want to get to that lake by dark. How far do you think it is?" 

Lister gazed out toward the thick, dense trees. Something wasn't right. He knew that one of those trees were smaller when they went in the previous night. The undergrowth wasn't as thick. The grass was taller, thicker, and more green. There were more animal sounds. Something seemed off, but he pointed in the direction he thought the lake was in and they headed that way. 

Rimmer managed to make it one hundred yards before tripping on something and gashing his knee, causing a lovely hole in his trousers and a fit of panicked babbling about his blood. Luckily, he didn't pass out from the sight. 

They made it another hundred yards before Rimmer decided to start whinging, "We'll never make it, Listy, We're going to die here. We really are. They'll never find us and if they do, all they will find are our rucksacks and maybe bits of hair." 

Lister shut him up by kissing him.


	5. Chapter 5

The planet had confirmed what it was seeing with it's direct link with the one called Rimmer. The two men clearly had a beautiful relationship. It was enough for the planet to want more of this. It wished to feed off of it forever. It knew it was going to need to plan something large and powerful to keep them on the moon forever. It would need to do something big. It knew what it wanted. It knew what it needed. But could they do it? Could they be the ones to give it what it needed to survive? Would they?

\-----

When Lister finally pulled his hooveresque mouth away from Rimmer's He noted the blissful calm that had suddenly come over nature as well. Lister suddenly realized something that had been nagging at the back of his head for the last 48 hours. This whatever it was, was clearly tied to Rimmer's subconscious. He suddenly wondered what in the hell would happen if he buggered the man senseless. The thought was giving him a slight chubby and he completely forgot the aching of his ribs or the fact that Rimmer now had a banged up knee. But he still was getting a chubby and needed to get to that lake. 

He looked down the path and noted that Rimmer's gaze was following his. 

"When did the trees thin out?" Rimmer asked, that minx like tongue slipping out and wetting his lips. 

_God, I must be, seriously, horny._ Lister thought, watching Rimmer carefully. 

"Listy, I think we can make the lake in twenty minutes, the way this cleared out. I still would like to know what happened to the undergrowth that was down there." Rimmer started to walk, pulling Lister along the wooded path. Almost dragging him. 

The lake was in a small opening in the woods. It was a bit like a hole dug in the ground surrounded by a small grassy area. Rimmer pointed to an area not far from them where a small shack was sitting about twenty feet from the lake. 

"Head for the shack, Rimmer." Lister stated. pointing in the direction.

Once they got close enough to the shack they noted it was more Cabin like in it appearance. It had a small kitchenette stocked with some things, a small sitting room with a fireplace, and a small bedroom with a bed large enough for two. Rimmer walked the two foot into the bedroom and collapsed face down on the bed. 

"Heaven. I'm in heaven. Listy, the blanket is soft. Not itchy. Fantastic." Rimmer's muffled words came from the bed. 

Lister simply stared a Rimmer's ass wondering how he was going to convince his lover he wanted a shag on the bed. 

\-----

_Twenty minutes later_

The glowing ghostly figure approached the cabin. Knowing it should knock but it still didn't. Walking though the door, it found a very naked Lister looking though the cupboards. The ghostly being blinked. 

"Perhaps I should have knocked." The voice was a very low husky woman's. 

Lister turned and dropped the can of curry sauce on the floor. The glass jar didn't break. "Oh eh? What...Who are you?" 

"I am the planet you and your partner are on. I am her ethereal body. I am tied to your partner's mind. I believe he wants you to be happy and is helping me form this piece of paradise for you. I can make anything. You want cows, sheep and horses. I will make them." The woman's voice echoed slightly. 

Lister stared at the woman. "You're sharing Rimmer's mind? You're feeding off of his subconscious?"

The planet/woman/thing nodded.

"So, if we leave, this will all go away? The planet will go back to being a barren rock?" 

The planet/woman/thing nodded again. 

Lister looked around and found a pack of cigarettes on the counter and lit one. "We can leave when the Cat and Krytie get here." It wasn't a question.

The planet/woman/thing nodded again. 

"But you are going to ask us to stay, aren't you?" Lister took a pull off his cigarette. 

It nodded, "I would like you to stay. I quite enjoy your partner's rich brain. It's full of interesting thoughts and fears. He loves you very much. He's just not sure how to show it. I showed him a paradise to get him to stop. I created the storm that brought you down. I will not hurt you if you stay. You both can live out your lives here with no fear."

"What was chasing us?" Lister asked, almost afraid to ask. 

The thing looked at him oddly and stated bluntly, "His fear. I will leave you. Your friends from your ship will be here in three days. You can leave with them. If you stay two more cabins will appear. " 

Lister watched as the thing slid from the cabin and disappeared in the lake.


End file.
